Saturday, May 7, 2011

Claims: "The One Sweep Shadow is a breakthrough new way for anyone to get a professional eye shadow look. The unique applicator is shaped to fit the eye and apply three shades in one step to define, color and highlight. It's fast, easy, and mistake-proof."

Review: I received this product for free through the social marketing site BzzAgent. Since the campaign's launch, I've seen TONS of negative reviews for the products everywhere, but I fully intended to try it out and review it with no bias.

The intent of this product is to apply a full eye look with minimal effort. So I think it's only natural that makeup enthusiasts and people who are awesome at applying eyeshadow think this is silly - they don't need a gimmicky product to do it for them. But for those who aren't as skilled, it could be a great time-saver.

The brush is large and odd-shaped, and the application takes a while to get used to. I kept getting smudges in places they weren't supposed to be, like on the outside corners of my eyes. However, I did manage to get it to work the right way after using it a few times. My eyelid must be shaped in the way the product was designed for, because I heard a lot of complaints about it not being one-size-fits-all, but it fit me fine.

I found it really hard to take a photo of my own eyelid - might update later with better photos if I can manage to take one.

I really liked the look of the dark purple on the bottom. This is how I usually do my eyemakeup, with a darker eyeshadow color close to my lash line (in place of eyeliner), and it looked properly and cleanly applied, no worse than when I manually do it myself. The problem was with the rest of the shadow. The top color looked no different than the middle color, and they were both very sheer and shimmery. It was too shimmery for me, almost greasy looking. I prefer darker shades without so much gleam.

The shadow also didn't last very long at all. It creased up and faded from the rest of my eyelid in a matter of hours, even with a primer applied.The darkest shade seemed to last better, and I have been using it alone from time to time, applied with a regular brush along my lash line.

So while the concept works for me, the shadow itself leaves a lot to be desired. I probably would have preferred a completely different color pallet, as these shades were not something I normally wear (although I do like the purple) and I don't think they do anything to enhance my eye color. If the shadow lasted longer and the shades were more to my liking, I'd give it another shot. It is very fast and easy when you become used to applying it, and it's been great when I have minimal time to get ready in the morning.